Short night for Tom Brady, as Ryan Mallett works with ones

Maybe the Patriots are still trying to polish him up for a trade, or maybe they want to see how he reacts against a good defense.

But the Patriots put quarterback Ryan Mallett in with the starters in the middle of the first quarter, replacing Tom Brady. He led them to a field goal drive and an early 3-0 lead over the Panthers.

Mallett’s currently competing with Jimmy Garropolo for the backup job, and as the Patriots have carried two quarterbacks in recent seasons, it’s natural to wonder whether they’re willing to keep both.

Brady worked a couple of series and completed 4-of-6 passes, but he also went down after being stepped on by his center, so the Patriots might just be seeing how Mallett reacts to a possible relief situation.

UPDATE 8:30 p.m. ET: Brady returned to the game on the next series, and hit Shane Vereen for a 40-yard touchdown pass, so he’s OK.

Mallett is horrendous.. with zero potential to play QB in a league that allows rushing the passer and defensives to disguise coverages…. no matter how hard Pats try to make him look good to dump on someone those facts will not change

6ball says:Aug 22, 2014 8:53 PM

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There’s no doubt as to if the Patriots will keep 3 QB’s if necessary. They’re not going to cut Brady or Garopollo. Why give Mallet away for nothing when he has trade value? Mallet will also be a free agent next season and would most likely bring a compensatory pick.
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What would life be without the Steelers, you ask? The world would undoubtedly be a very dark place with few precious metals and very little seafaring. Gantt love us.

tim3711 says:Aug 22, 2014 9:42 PM

He came back..into the third quarter…

jimr10 says:Aug 22, 2014 9:50 PM

who would want him?

eventhorizon04 says:Aug 22, 2014 10:02 PM

“Why give Mallet away for nothing when he has trade value?”

What trade value? If any team wanted him, they would have traded for him by now.

If a team traded for him tomorrow, he would have about 14 days to learn an entirely new playbook before the first regular season game. There are veterans sitting at home who can be signed without a trade, and Mallett can be signed without a trade in about 7 months when free agency starts.

Why the heck would any team give up a good pick for Mallett? The answer is, they wouldn’t, which is why, year after year, the Ryan Mallett trade rumors turn out to be nothing more than gossip.

TheWizard says:Aug 22, 2014 10:21 PM

Garoppollo looking like the real deal again this week.

This kid has a future.

djshnooks says:Aug 22, 2014 10:36 PM

Ryan Mallet does not have enough time accrued to warrant a compensatory pick.

If they got one for him anyways, it’d be a joke…they are rewarded to teams when they actually lose someone of importance.

I can’t see a team trading any draft picks for him, knowing he’s not gonna start this year, and they could sign him for dirt cheap in March…and whatever team would trade for him, has a good shot at landing him, as they obviously need a QB and he should know that looking at rosters when he is trying to decide where to go as a free agent. (If that makes any sense, not sure.)

Drew Bledsoe 2.0 without the smarts/skill.

floratiotime says:Aug 22, 2014 10:48 PM

The Pats are trying to find a chump to trade him for.

seanx40 says:Aug 22, 2014 11:41 PM

I don’t know why the Patriots would even play Brady in the preseason. Just tell him “Tom , the season starts on Sept in Miami. The game starts at 1. Be there around 11am. See you then!”

djshnooks says:
Aug 22, 2014 10:36 PM
Ryan Mallet does not have enough time accrued to warrant a compensatory pick.

If they got one for him anyways, it’d be a joke…they are rewarded to teams when they actually lose someone of importance.

I can’t see a team trading any draft picks for him, knowing he’s not gonna start this year, and they could sign him for dirt cheap in March…and whatever team would trade for him, has a good shot at landing him, as they obviously need a QB and he should know that looking at rosters when he is trying to decide where to go as a free agent. (If that makes any sense, not sure.)

Drew Bledsoe 2.0 without the smarts/skill.

———————-

Bledsoe threw the ball directly to an opposing lineman in the 2001 afc championship game and they guy couldn’t catch it. Dumbest play I’ve ever seen. He came back for part of one game and almost blew the whole burgeoning dynasty. Then he went on to do (not so) great things in Buffalo. He didn’t have the smarts/skill either.

There was a time when Mallettt would have been a capable replacement for Brady, if there really is such an animal, but that time passed – the guy has done basically nothing for 3 years besides hold a clipboard, and nobody can get by that.

Except Aaron Rodgers

tedmurph says:Aug 23, 2014 10:29 AM

I know it’s preseason, but the rumors of Brady’s days as an elite QB being over may have been premature. And, Gronk still hasn’t played.

Mallett isn’t going anywhere. They couldn’t get anything for him anyway, he’s more valuable here. As impressive as Garoppalo has looked against backups, he doesn’t know much of the playbook. Making the jump from E Illinois to being ready to start in the NFL may be a bit premature. They wouldn’t get a compensatory pk for Mallett unless he started somewhere next yr, which I doubt is gonna happen.

About this Bledsoe bashing. Mallett couldn’t carry Bledsoe’s jock. Bledsoe deserves more credit for putting this franchise on the map and getting the stadium built(along with Kraft and Parcells) than he gets. Although he had his warts, and I’m obviously glad Brady’s the QB, Bledsoe was no slouch. 4x Pro-Bowler(1x w/Bills, where I guess he did nothing) and help take the Pats to the SBowl in 1996. In that AFCCG in 2001 the Pats scored 24 pts. Special teams scored 14. The offense scored 0 when Brady was in there. Bledsoe came in, after losing his job due to injury and not playing all yr, and led the offense to 10 pts, to help win the game. Including a TD pass,(while almost blowing the bugeoning dynasty). Selective memories.

tigerlilac says:Aug 23, 2014 10:48 AM

Mallett replacing Brady was just Bill practicing situational football. Backups usually come into games when something unexpected happens to the starter. Bill does this sort of thing often in the preseason.

This thread is strewn with fools projecting their hopes that bad things lie ahead for the Patriots. Sorry, the past is prologue and the Patriots are getting even better. As for Mallett, his value will go up as QBs around the league get hurt (and compensatory pick assignments take into account what other teams pay players when they sign them, not what a guy in his basement thinks). Why anyone would want to tear down Drew Bledsoe is beyond me.

Most of Brady’s back ups, that get the same crap comments as this article, go on to be great QB;s for another team. Mallett throws a long ball, which isn’t the Patriot Way cause Brady throws short passes so he won’t get hit. Mallett’s not worried about getting hit – he’ll have his day to prove he’s better than you think – he’s just trying to do it their way right now and he hasn’t been Brady’s only back up for 3 years because he’s not any good. How good can you look when you never see playing time, and as long as Brady’s breathing, he’s not coming off the field in a game. So good luck to the little short italian guy and may he find the bench a thrilling ride for the next 3 years when Mallett leaves.

patsfansincegrogan says:Aug 24, 2014 3:08 PM

the truth about Bledose? Early on, the guy was just as good as Brady spreading the ball out, in ’94 5 of his recievers got more than 50 catches. But Ernie Zampese ruined the guy, forcing him to go deep all the time. That was followed by a revolving door of offensive coordinators. The guy was literally on his own out there towards the end, heaving the ball downfield. While Belichick was with the Jets, he wrote the book on beating Bledsoe. When Bill came back, he had a tattered nervous wreck of a qb in Bledsoe, his best years spent doing what he could to keep the Pats competitive. Pete Carroll deserves alot of the blame for ruining the guy also.